AUSTRIA

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Statement

by

H.E. Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs

of the Republic of Austria

to

the Fifty-Sixth Session of the

United Nations General Assembly

New York, 12 November 2001

Mr. President,

Let me at the outset congratulate you on your election to this high
office. While assuring you of my delegation’s full cooperation and support,
I am confident that under your guidance and leadership – which you have
already proven in the first days of your new function - this Session of
the General Assembly will contribute to strengthen global cooperation and
its indispensable platform, the United Nations, in the coming months.

I should also like to take this opportunity to reiterate my very best
wishes to the Secretary-General on his appointment to a second term of
office. Furthermore, I would like to congratulate him very warmly on being
awarded, jointly with the United Nations, the Nobel Peace Prize - an honor
and recognition he truly deserves for his leadership, dedication and courage
in the service of our Organization. This award also signals the recognition
and encouragement for the United Nations and all those who are committed
to its mission, not least for the United Nations staff members.

Mr. President,

Allow me to also express here our thanks to your predecessor, H. E.
Harri Holkeri, for the many efforts he undertook not only in conducting
the day-to-day business but also with regard to revitalizing the United
Nations, in particular with regard to the General Assembly.

My distinguished colleague, the Foreign Minister of Belgium, has already
addressed this Assembly on behalf of the European Union. Austria fully
endorses his remarks.

Mr. President,

Two months have passed now since the heinous terrorist attacks of 11
September.

While we are still in shock about the loss of thousands of innocent
lives we have, however, also been encouraged by the resolve of the community
of nations’ collective response, here in the General Assembly and in the
Security Council.

This unanimous strong reaction gives us hope that today our nations
are ready to move over a threshold leaving behind a world of deadly divisions
and entering a genuine global community.

There are some good signs to that effect:

One, during the past weeks, we have witnessed new astonishing political
– maybe even geopolitical – alignments which, if followed through, are
comparable to other watershed events of historic proportions.

Two, the menace of an unprecedented, devastating terrorism is compelling
us to take a fresh look at the root causes of much that is unacceptable
in our world, according to our own standards – but which we have been tolerating
or at least living with, quite contrary to our declared principles. I refer
to abject levels of poverty, inequality, injustice.

These are at the origin of the many conflicts around the globe. Some
of them are particularly dangerous, providing breeding grounds for global
terrorism or serving as pretext for terrorists. It would be irresponsible
if we – the international community – did not engage in renewed efforts
to find solutions to these regional conflicts, be it in the Middle East,
in Afghanistan, in Kashmir, in the Caucasus, in the Balkans – but also
in the area around the Great Lakes, which has seen so much human suffering.

The European Union – on a continent marked by centuries of war – has
developed its model of conflict resolution. It holds in three words: cooperation,
partnership, integration. The European Union is engaged in a welcome policy
of extending this zone of peace. We hope that the enlarged Union – planned
to become a Union of 28 and later more – will be able to contribute more
effectively to peace and stability in the world.

Under the present circumstances Austria’s priorities outside Europe
are the Middle East and Central Asia, not least because these areas have
a direct bearing on the fight against terrorism in its present phase.

The Middle East conflict has been on our agenda without interruption
since the time of the creation of the United Nations. There is no doubt
that we have a special obligation to contribute to a just and viable solution.
A heightened sense of responsibility is felt, when on the one hand violence
escalates, but on the other – as I see it – new opportunities have emerged.
Austria is of the opinion that major concerted efforts should be undertaken
so that negotiations can resume on the basis of the Security Council resolutions
without delay. Only sincere negotiations and a sincere renunciation of
violence can bring a rapprochement of the two parties and finally peace.

Afghanistan is a reminder of a conflict neglected too long. Now, there
is a new dimension unfolding. We are forced to act. The humanitarian tragedy
is obvious. In this context Central Asia deserves increased attention,
for example in view of assistance for the maintenance of stability and
concertation aiming at the necessary reconstruction of Afghanistan.

A word as to the Balkans, a neighboring region to my country: It must
not be neglected, although new dangers emerge elsewhere. In the Western
Balkans there is progress – especially in Zagreb, in Belgrade, in Tirana,
in Sarajevo – but overall stability and economic recovery are not yet assured.
Extremists have not yet disarmed. We have to keep up a high profile of
international commitment.

Mr. President,

Combating terrorism is, of course, not a single-dimensional task. It
requires cooperation on many fronts.

· I see the United Nations as playing a key
role in this regard. This requires a clarification and coordination of
tasks within the United Nations system, so as to ensure the necessary synergy.

· There is also a role for regional cooperation.
To give you an example: A so called “Regional Security Partnership” was
established between Austria and some of her neighbours, candidates for
EU membership, across boundaries which for half a century had divided Europe.

· Overall, we must address the long-term societal
development at a local, national and global level and the capacities required
to build a universally shared political culture based on respect of human
rights, human dignity, including of the plurality of identities at all
levels of society.

Let me elaborate on the UN role:

Time has certainly come to significantly strengthen the United Nations’
capabilities and programmes in combating and preventing terrorism. The
complexity of the challenge requires an inter-sectoral and inter-institutional
cooperation. We have to enable the principal organs of the Organization,
including their specialized subsidiary organs, such as the Security Council’s
Committee on Terrorism, the General Assembly’s ad-hoc Committee on Terrorism
as well as ECOSOC’s Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
and the appropriate Secretariat units to perform the tasks that are now
urgently needed.

The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will hold a
special meeting on terrorism in the context of the Vienna Declaration on
Crime and Justice on 15 November 2001. Just one week prior to the terrorist
attacks of 11 September Plans of Action for the implementation of the Vienna
Declaration had been adopted; they will play an important role in the system-wide
response to international terrorism including a comprehensive set of recommendations
for both national and international action. These recommendations stress
once more the relationship existing between terrorism on the one hand and
crime including transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking
on the other.

The United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention and its
Terrorism Prevention Branch has received a focused mandate, which should
serve as a solid basis for enhancing the capabilities of the United Nations
in the prevention of terrorism. To this end the human and financial resources
should be strengthened accordingly.

Needless to say, the challenge of terrorism requires the full support
on the part of each and every Government. Ratification of the various international
legal instruments as well as the conclusion of negotiations concerning
a Comprehensive International Convention against Terrorism are of fundamental
importance. The Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations should
also get immediately active in providing, where requested, concrete assistance
to member states in implementing national legislation required by Security
Council Resolution 1373 as well as to national capacity-building.

Several items on our Global Agenda have reminded us of the fundamental
importance of the individual citizen and of society in economic, social,
cultural and institutional development. Increasingly, we have understood
the strategic role of the basic principles and values in our societies
upon which the future of mankind is based. Our rejection of terrorism must
be absolute. At the same time, we need to strengthen our networks and skills
for dialogue, cross-identification and solidarity.

We do need a globally shared political culture that is based on the
respect for global diversity, which finds its only limits in the right
to diversity of others. We must never allow fanaticism, violence and terrorism
to undermine the fabric on which peace and security are built. Now, more
than ever, we have to redouble our efforts in the development of our societies
based on plurality and trust among peoples and cultures.

In this context the Secretary-General’s efforts to promote Dialogue
among Civilizations – an initiative of President Khatami – can have enormous
significance. Austria had the pleasure of inviting the Secretary-Generals’
Group of Eminent Persons for their first meeting in Vienna and was honored
by the Secretary-General personally participating in last summer’s “Salzburg
Dialogue among Civilizations”. Austria’s commitment to dialogue has found
its expression in a series of inter-religious encounters, especially between
Christianity and Islam, over the past ten years. These encounters served
for identifying common values and for projecting these into the wider communities.

For us such Dialogue has the core objective of developing societies’
capacities in preventing hatred, disintegration and politically motivated
violence against fellow citizens.

Austria’s efforts have also focused on another element of societal development.
Long-term strategies of terrorism prevention require a globally shared
culture of Human Rights. Let me mention briefly the growing cooperation
between qualified regional institutions for Human Rights Education and
Learning in Africa, South-Asia and the Far East and Pacific, Europe and
Latin America. The proclamation of Human Rights Cities in all of these
regions might merit specific attention by the appropriate organs of the
United Nations including by the Commission on Human Settlements.

We are aware that there is a direct relationship between the internal
negation of Human Rights on the one hand and a culture of violence that
eventually may project its effects not only internally but also internationally
and even globally. In view of accelerated globalization and worldwide economic,
cultural and information relations we may have to take pro-active measures
to strengthen our shared basic believes and political values through education
and learning processes. The current United Nations Decade for Human Rights
Education might offer opportunities for appropriate initiatives, also in
response to the horror of a global terrorism scenario.

In this context we have to give greater recognition to the role of women
in providing human security and human development in all our societies.
This recognition is due in particular in crisis areas where women have
not only sustained most of the victimization of intra-societal violence,
but have also assured the survival of the neediest.

An example in point is Afghanistan and Afghani society. 85 % of refugees
and internally displaced persons are women and children. In fact, those
who are often depicted as the weakest element in society had to bear the
brunt of violence and repression. As we design our programmes for reconstructing
a post-terrorist Afghanistan, we must conceive of programmes by which women,
in particular those now in refugee camps, are enabled to contribute their
share in a governance of development, peace and cooperation. This is essential
for a society that wishes to overcome the scars of decades of conflict
and war.

I concretely suggest, therefore, that programmes be implemented immediately
that, through education and training, would empower women, in particular
those in refugee camps, to assume public responsibility in the reconstruction
of their country.

The media bear an increasingly important responsibility in shaping societies’
value structures and capabilities. As Austria’s Federal Chancellor Wolfgang
Schüssel said in his statement before the General Assembly on the
International Year for the Dialogue among Civilizations, Austria is taking
an initiative in the context of the partnership between the European Union
and the Mediterranean countries that will focus on the special role and
responsibility of the media in this partnership and in the societal development
towards accepting and benefiting from the plurality of cultures and identities
in this region.

In concluding, I should like to make a few comments on other very important
developments with regard to items on our Global Agenda:

The sustainable use of our local, national, regional and global natural
resources endowment continues to be of front-line importance. The recent
study by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis on the
projected dramatic reduction of agricultural productivity over the next
50 years due to climate change of between 45 % and 55 % in Africa, India,
Southern China and Latin America reminds us that the processes of long-term
global change need as much action as our activities in coping with crisis
and combating criminal terrorism. The World Summit on Sustainable Development
in Johannesburg will need not only a technical but also a political focus
with an appropriate resolve for our shared global development can be articulated.

One specific area where newly shared policies and institutional support
may be required, is the integration of energy-policies into the global
sustainable development agenda. The Commission on Sustainable Development
at its 9th session and the Third UN Conference on the LDCs recognized the
strong connection between energy policy interventions and poverty reduction.
Energy considerations should therefore be fully integrated into the implementation
of the Millennium Declaration. Vienna, hosting four prominent international
organizations in the field of global energy policies – UNIDO, IAEA, OPEC
and IIASA - could offer, with Austria’s support, a framework for developing
an innovative platform in this regard. I look forward to exploring this
issue further with interested partners.

With many developing regions having to cope with the difficult and often
precarious management of mountain resources we should take advantage of
the International Year of the Mountains in 2002 for new initiatives in
exchanging experience and for new programmes of cooperation.

Finally, we are still working on implementing our resolve to strengthen
the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in accomplishing
its important tasks. The ECOSOC-reform paper by UN-DESA contains, I think,
very valuable contributions to our ongoing debate. As Austria has already
suggested years ago, a coordination and an integration of the UN-system’s
reporting in economic and social affairs and the preparation of a comprehensive
“state of the world” report by the Secretary-General would not only facilitate
but would significantly enhance ECOSOC’s role in policy formulation in
this field.

When coping with the dynamic processes of global change in the economic
sector we have to put the human being back into the center of our policies.
New efforts have to be undertaken to internalize the multiple dimensions
and costs of globalization. In this context let me especially welcome the
Secretary-General’s initiative of a new partnership with the Global Business
community, inviting it to share in the responsibility for what is happening
in global public space.

All the concerns I am addressing in this statement have a common focus:
understanding the human being as an actor, a perpetrator, a victim and
a partner, in other words as the basic paradigm of global development.
This is why human development, human rights and human security are the
coordinates from where we have to address both the current crises and our
long-term development objectives.